The ECA position statement review process

As part of this work, the ECA National Council has commissioned a working party to review the current range of ECA policies. The working party, made up of members from all state/territory branches, will assess each policy according to their relevance, their usefulness to members, and their capacity to assist in effective advocacy for young children.

The position statements will be reflective of the vision of the organisation and our mandate to be a voice for children.

ECA position statement: Children and the Mass Media

• the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
• the development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
• the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilisations different from his or her own;
• the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin; and
• the development of respect for the natural environment.

• the important role that the mass media plays in the education and socialisation process and the need to both use and control this resource to bring the maximum benefit to children;
• the benefits to children of learning through and about the media;
• the need for guidelines for parents and staff to use media in the best interests of children eg. program choice, discussion points for watching, monitoring of time and programs;
• general understanding of child development and children's ability to understand and integrate different issues and methods of presentation;
• understanding that the effect of the media on children differs according to the child's individual personality and life experiences;
• research that media violence, especially in a realistic context, may be frightening to children and is inappropriate modelling;
• knowledge of program classifications and the times that programs are broadcast in each classification;
• the benefits of and need for adult input to children’s viewing;
• the need for balance in children’s lives;
• the effects of advertising on children’s health and pressure on families to buy inappropriate products or those which they cannot afford (including the effect of advertising telephone numbers which children may ring to get inappropriate information);
• the effect of television promotions of adult programs in children’s viewing times;
• the rights of children to informed choice and the effect of some advertising to the very young on this;
• possible biases of media viewpoints;
• modeling effects of media on behavior and values;
• issues about watching in other children’s homes, particularly related to possible unsupervised viewing, choice of program and possible exposure to adult videos;
• effect on parents and parenting e.g.. programs which affect the way parents see their role and their children’s needs;
• the understanding of the positive effect that appropriate programs and viewing/reading methods can have for children;
• positive potential for parents and centers/schools to link with each other in relation to media issues and educational possibilities;
• consideration of the positive use of media to promote children’s well being, e.g.. health/parenting/educational promotion; and
• the need for all those who work with children to advocate for high quality programs for children and for the removal of inappropriate programs, classifications and advertising as well as inappropriate use of children in programs and advertising. Staff and parents need to understand complaints procedures.